Mercerizing-machine.



I No. 7:14am. Pafented July l5, I902.

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NIEBfiERIZING MACHINE.

(Application filed Dec. 11, 1900.] (N0 NlOdGl.) 3 Shaets$h6et I.

Patented July l5, I902. M. FRINGS. MEBGERIZING MACHINE.

(Application filed Dec. 11', 1900.]

(No Model.)

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No. 704,53I.

M. FRINGS.

mEncE-mzms MACHINE.

Patented July I5, v I902.

(Application filed Dec. 11, 1900.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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MAURICE FRINGS, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

MERCERIZING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 704,531, dated July 15,1902.

Application filed December ll, 1900. Serial No. 39541. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE FRINGS, constructing engineer, a resident of131 Rue St. Denis, in the city of Paris, in the Republic of France, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in and Connected withMercerizing-Machines, which improvements are fully set forth in thefollowing specification.

This invention relates to a new mercerizingmachine. Mercerizing, anoperation intended to impart a silky luster to cotton, consists inwashing the material with soda and then washing and rinsing it withwater.

The mercerizing machines employed a present in dyeing require theservices of several men and necessitate a considerable expenditure ofpower. Moreover, as the hanks of cotton have to be removed from thesodabath in order to be washed and rinsed it will be seen that thisoperation cannot be carried out with any great degree of regularity.

My improved machine comprises two rollers mounted on ball-bearings, theone roller having a rotary motion for carrying the hanks along and theother being furnished with an arrangement enabling it to be raised andlowered, so as to allow of the hanks being stretched and put in place,and is also provided with arrangements by means of which the variousoperations constituting the mercerizing (admission and discharge of thesoda, draining, admission and discharge of the water, washing, andrinsing) can be carried out automatically. The machine has importantadvantages-which will be considered in due course.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have annexed tothis specification two sheets of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is anelevation; Fig. 2, a side View; Fig. 3, a plan. Figs. 4:, 5, 6, 7, and Sare views in detail of certain mechanical parts of of the machine.

The machine comprises a cast-iron frame 1, made of various pieces, withprojections and recesses, so as to allow the different parts whichefiect the automatic motion to be fixed and to afford an easy passagefor the same.

In the front and in the upper part of the machine are two rollers 2 2,formed by a single shaft having shoulders and bearings and covered withhardened india-rubber or ebonite for the sole purpose of insuring asmooth and non slippery surface for the hanks. The shaft forming the tworollers 2 2, Figs. 1. 2, and 3, is supported in the centeronball-bearings in a casing 3, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, fixed to the frame bya bracket adjoining the said casing. In the interior of the casing 3 andkeyed to the roller-shaft is a wheel 4, Fig. 3, which is actuated by aworm 5, Figs. 2 and 3. This wheel is constantly immersed in the oilcontained in the casing in order to insure smooth and easy working. Thelower shaft forming the two lower rollers 6 6, Figs. 1 and 2, alsorotates onball-bearings in a casing 7, the weight of which, added tothat of the rollers, is balanced by a counterweight 8, through the medium of cast-iron arms 8, which connect this counterweight with thecasing. Moreover, these arms 8 are furnished with adjustingscrewarrangements 10 and 9, so that in case of breakage the counterweight isheld up without danger. In addition to this, on one of the arms a rod 11is linked, which is connected to the operating-lever 12. The wholearrangement oscillates around a shaft 13, to which several levers arekeyed that actuate certain rods, the object of which will be explainedin due course.

lmmediately below the shaft forming the lower rollers is a vat 14 oftrapezoidal form intended to contain in turn the soda and the water.This vat is furnished with the outletvalves 15 and 16, the one, 15, forthe soda communicating with a pipe 17, which conveys through a secondpipe 18, Fig. 1, that is joined to it,the soda to the recuperating-vat19, described later on, and the other valve 16 for the watercommunicating with a pipe 20, that conveys the rinsing-water into a vatwith two compartments. Further, the upper edges of the vat 14 arecovered with wood,"so as to prevent the hanks from coming into contactwith the sheet-iron sides.

Below one of the ends of the vat let is a soda-recuperating reservoir19, Fig. 2, in the form of a parallelepipedon divided into compartmentsby means of sheet-iron, on which latter are placed soda-crystals. Thesoda returning to the reservoir by means of the pipe 18 passes over thecrystals, takes any desired quantity, and is again conveyed to the vat14.

' branch off the pipe 17, corresponding with the soda-discharge valve15, and an overflowpipe 23, Fig. 3. The pump 22 is furnished with twopulleys 24 and 25, the onefixed, the other loose, and the belt of whichis shifted by a fork 26, attached to a rod 27, which is connected with alever 28, Fig. 2, keyed to the shaft 13. The pump feeds the soda intothe vat 14 by the tube 29. In the interior of the vat 14 is therockshaft 30, carrying levers 31, to the extremities of which a rod 32,preferably of Malaccacane, is fixed, which is intended to raise thehanks at the end of an operation. I This shaft, and consequently theMalacca-cane rod, are controlled by a lever 33,.Figs. 1 and 3, having arecess in which a catch fixed on the casing en gages.

The principal gearing mounted on the frame in the upper part of themachine com'-.

prises a shaft 40, on which three pulleys 34 35 36 are mounted, Figs. 1and 2. The first pulley 34, keyed to the shaft, operates thebevel-gearing 37 38 to rotate the shaft carrying the worm 5, whichimparts motion to the upperrollers. Thesecondpulley35ismounted on thesleeve 39, loose on the shaft and carrying the worm or screw 90, Figs. 1and 3. The third pulley 36 is mounted loosely on the sleeve 39. Itfollows, as will be hereinafter described, that when the belt is on thepulleys 34 and 35 at the same time the rollers and the worm 90 areactuated, and when the belt is on 35 and 36 at the same time the worm 90only is actuated, and finally when the belt is on the pulley 36 themachine is entirely out of gear. The worm 90 actuates a wheel 4], Fig.3, which may be replaced by other wheels of dilferent diameters added tothe machine with a view to making the total operations continue for alonger or shorter time. This .wheel 41 is keyed to a vertical shaft 42,at the end of which another worm 43 is mounted, which operates a wheel44, keyed to the shaft '45, Figs. 2 and 3, carrying the cams whichrender the motion automatic. The first cam 46, Fig. 4, actuates a forkedlever 47, connected to the flap of a water-valve 48, Fig. 3, in order toadmit the water into the vat by the tubes 49 and 50, Figs. 1 and 2,through the medium of the supply-pipe 51 and the branch pipe 52. Thepipes 49 and 50 are perforated for dividing the waterinto numerous jets,which strike with a force that can be regulated as desired the interiorand exterior of the hanks. The pipe 49 effects the external rinsing, thetube 50 the internal rinsing, of the bank. On the pipe 52 a manometer53, Fig. 1, is mounted, which indicates the pressure of the waterintended for rinsing. The second cam 54 is intended to enable thesodacon-tained in the vat 14 to be discharged through the pipe 17 byopening valve 15. The third cam 56, Fig. 4, is intended to effectstoppage of the hanks while the soda is being drained off, an operationwhich takes place immediately after the washing with soda. This arrestis effected, as will be seen presently, by means-of the mechanismillustrated in Figs. 4 and 7. Then the rinsing is finished, this samecam produces a complete stoppage of the machine.

The cam 57 is formed so as to raise the valve 16 through the medium ofthe lever 58 at a given moment and to open the communication between thevat 14 and the discharge-pipe 20, which is furnished with specialmechanism, as will be shortly'seen. The lever 58, Fig. 6, is furnishedwith a slide-piece 59, which by means of a finger 60, mounted on theshaft 13, ren ders the lever dependent upon the cam 57 as regards beingraised and on the shaft 13 for being lowered. The cam 61, composed ofthree disks of the same thickness joined together by two bolts runningthrough them, has an equally distinct outline and actuates a lever 62,Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which controls bell-crank levers 63 and 64, attachedto the water-discharge pipe 20, so as to impart to this pipe at a givenmoment and under the influence of the cam 61 a motion from right to leftor from left to right. To allow of this movement of the pipe 20, it isformed with a flexible portion 65. The lever 62, Fig. 5, is madedependent upon the cam 61 for being raised and by means of aslide-piece66 upon the shaft 13 for being lowered. The forked lever 47, controlledby the cam 46 through the medium of a roller, carries on one of thebranches 67 of its fork a rod which comm unicates with a sounding-gong63.

The arrangements illustrated in Figs. 4 and 7 consist of two lever-arms69 and 69, pivoted at 72, on the former of which are two castiron arms70 and 71, carrying two rollers. The upper part of the principal arm 69,Fig. 4, carries the fork that shiftsthe belt on the driving-pulleys.Thisshifting-fork oscillates around the pivot 72 and is connected with ahand-lever 75 through the medium of a rod 76. Further, a chain or cordpassing over the roller at the end of arm 71 and that at the end of thearm 70 connects the fork with the extended arm 67 of the fork-lever 47,in which is fixed the roller having contact with the cam 46. One of thelever-arms, 69, pivoted at 72, carries in its lower part a catch-arm 73,rigidly projecting therefrom, which is constantly drawn to the side ofthe cam 56 by a counterweight 74. This cam is formed with twoprojections a and b and a recess 0, Fig. 8, and changes in the operationof the machine are effected by the different positions of catch 73 oncam 56. WVhen the catch 73 occupies recess 0, the arm 69', which isconstantly in contact therewith, is at the extreme left with the belt onthe loose pulley. The machine is then out of gear. When the machine isstarted, the arm 69 being forced toward the right (placing the belt onpulleys 34 and 35) against catch 73 the latter is forced from recess 0and IIO onto projection a. The time which the catch remains on thisprojection corresponds to the period of washing of the hanks in thesoda. WVhen the projection to has passed from under catch 73, the latterfalls onto the plane portion of the cam 56, causing the lever-arms 69and 69 to move under the pull of counterweight 74 toward the left,drawing the belt onto pulleys 35 and 36, thereby arresting the movementof the hanks whose washing in the soda is completed. As long as theplane portion of the cam remains in contact with catch 73 the hanksremain motionless. It is during this period that the soda drains fromthe hanks. When the dripping has ceased and at the moment when theprojection of cam 16 comes in contact with the roller of lever 47 tocause the rinsing-water to flow, the second elevation 11 of cam'56againforces the catch 73 toward the right, which causes a displacementof the belt onto pulleys 34 and 35, thereby placing the hanks in motion.WVhen the rinsing is concluded-that is to say, when the projection ofcam 46 is entirely clear of the roller of lever et7the recess 0 of thecam 56 is immediately in front of the catch 73. The latter under thepullof the counterweight enters the recess, drawing the levers 69 and 69to the left, thereby causing the belt to pass onto the loose. pulley 36and stopping the machine. The counterweight 74c constantly pulls the arm69 toward the leftthat is to say, always holds catch 73 against the faceof cam 56 and arm 69 toward the right-that is to say, toward itsabutment-and retains the roller of shaft 47 on cam 46. This arrangementenables the machine to be arrested when the cam is placed in anactingposition. In fact, whatever be the position of the catch 73 on cam 56the lever 69, which oscillates freely around pivot 7 2, can always bepushed toward the left and against the action of the counterweight toplace the belt on the loose pulley 36 without displacing lever 69. Assoon as lever 75 is released lever 69, under the action of counterweight74, which, owing to pulley 71, draws said lever constantly toward theright-that is to say, against the catch 7 3 -returns, with the belt, tothe position it occupied at the moment of stopping.

On the upper part of the frame and at each side of the machine two Hshaped castings 77 and 78 are placed, Fig. 1, carrying in the lower partthe water-pipe 50 and in the upper part an iron rod 79, which serves-asaxis for a water-deflector S0, oscillating around 79 ontor-dischargepipe 20 is a reservoirdivided into compartments 86 and S7, intended theone for collecting thewater that is rich in soda and the other forreceiving the rinsingwater, which contains but little soda.

The principal parts of the machine having been described, its workingwill now be considered. At the end of an operation, the hanks havingbeen rinsed and drained and then arranged as shown'in Fig. 1, where ahank is represented at 88, the screw 84 is screwed up in the casing 3,so as to enable the hanks to be loosened, and the operatinglever 12 israised. In consequence of the arrangement of the parts it follows thatthe arm supporting the lower rollers 6 6, balanced by the counterweight.8, ascends. The hanks are then completely relaxed. In the firstmovement the catch placed on the lower casing has taken hold of thelever 33 and transmits motion to the Malacca-cane rod 32,which bringsthe lowerportion of the hanks out of the vat 14,-the watershed descends,and the lever 28, mounted on the shaft 13, is lowered, setting thecentrifugal pump 22 in action. By this same movement the finger 60,fixed on the shaft 13, closes the rinsing-water-outlet valve 16 incausing the catch of the lever 58 to slide onto the cam 57, and at thesame time the lever 62, which controls the pipe 20 above the reservoir87, is lowered in order to avoid any loss of soda in case the valve 16does not act well, this being assured by the mechanism represented inFigs. 5 and 6. In other words, the cams 57 and 61 are brought back tothe starting-point. The workman who attends to the machine can thenremove the hanks which have been mercerized. He releases these hanksfrom the rollers and can put fresh ones in place ready for the operationwhile the vat is filling with soda. For this purpose he puts them ontothe ends of the rollers straddlewise and spreads them out carefully.This having been done, he lowers the lever 12. This movement stretchesthe hanks in consequence of the'descent of the casing 7. The workmanthen turns the screw 84, which gives the desired space between the tworollers and vigorously stretches the threads of the hanks. The pumpconveying the soda into the vat is thrown out of engagement by themovement of the lever 12, and the soda, which might run over the vat inconsequence of the immersion of the lower roller into the vat, runs offthrough the overflow 23 in order to return to the reservoir 19 by thetube 18. The workman then sets the machine going by means of thehand-lever 75, which brings the belt from the loose pulley 36 onto thetwo pulleys 34 and 35 at the same time. In consequence of thearrangement which has been seen the upper rollers are rotated, as alsothe lower shaft 45, hearing the cams. The form of the cams is such as toallow this washing with soda to be efifected for a certain time. elapsedthe cam 54 raises the sodaoutlet As soon assuch time has pipe 17 andreturns to the recuperating-reservoir 19. At the same time as the outletof soda is efiected the plane portion of the cam 5 56 comes in front ofthe catch 73 on the lever 69, Fig. 4. The result is an inclination ofthe arm 69', which is drawn by the counterweight 74, and consequentlythe passing of the belt over the two pulleys 35 and 36. The rollers areno longer actuated, and the lower gearing alone continues to rotate. Thestoppage of the hanks is intended to allow of their draining, theduration of which is nearly equal to that of the washing with soda whichfalls from the hanks drop by drop and always returns to therecuperating-reservoir 19 by the pipes 17 and 18. When this draining isended, the cam 46 raises the lever 47, which opens the water-valve. Thewater enters through the perforated tubes 49 and 50, and the jetsconverge toward the hanks. At this moment the projection 17 of the cam56 has come in front of the catch 73, the lever 69' has oscillated, andthe belt is replaced on the pulleys 34 and 35, the hanks again being putin motion, and the rinsing, the final operation of the mercerizing,takes place. The water entering through the pipes 49 and 50 mixes withthe soda with which the hanks are impregnated and forms a solution richin soda, which it is economical not to allow to be lost. With thisobject as soon as the water enters the soda-outlet valve closes and thecam 57 raises the water-outlet valve through the medium of thelever 58.The water that is rich in soda then discharges through the pipe 20 andfalls into a vat 86, from which it may be afterward drawn for use inother operations after being freshly saturated. At the expiration of acertain time the water which runs off into pipe 20 contains no moresoda. The cam 61 then raises the lever 62 and through the medium of thelevers 63 and 64 moves the tube 20 from 20 to 20", Fig.4. The water thenruns in pipe 20 into the vat 87. Further, the cam 61 being formed ofthree disks can be adjusted at will, and this enables to collect onlythe water that is rich in soda to any extent that maybe desired. The cam46 continuing to rotate returns to its normal posi tion, the rod of thevalve is lowered, the valve closes, the rinsing is then ended, and therod fixed on the. arm 67 of the lever 47 releases the sounding-gong,which announces that the operation is ended and calls the attention ofthe workman in charge of the machine. At this moment the shaft 45,having effected a complete revolution, brings back the cam 56 to itsfirst position, and the catch 73, dropping into recess 0' in this cam,causes the fork under the strain of the counterweight 74 to return-againonto the pulley 36 and effects the automatic arrest of the machine. Inorder to commence a fresh operation, it is suflicient to slacken thescrew 84 to raise the lever 12, remove the hanks, and put in fresh onesin the manner referred to in connection with the beginning of theworking of the machine.

It will be easily seen in considering the working of the new machinedescribed above what numerous advantages it possesses. The workmanhaving charge of the machine can easily look after four or fivemachines. His whole work consists in removing the hanks which have beenmercerized and replacing them by others. Again, this machine eifectingentirely automatically the operation of treating with the soda andrinsing, working with great regularity and recuperating the sodasolution to the desired extent, requires but little power (aboutone-eighth horsepower) for mercerizing two kilograms of cotton in hanksin consequence of its easy bearings,while effecting the spreading of thehanks perfectly and their impregnation without straining the fiber.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is- 1. In a mercerizing-machine,an upper roller A anddriving means for the same, a lower stretching-roller over which thehanks pass from the driving-roller, a'vat for containing mercerizingliquid,an operating-lever forlowering the stretching-roller into andelevating it from the vat, and counterbalancingmeans for thestretching-roller.

2. In a memorizing-machine, rollers over which the hanks are strung, avat for containing mercerizing liquid, driving means for rotating therollers and'moving the hanks to carry them through the mercerizingliquid in the vat, an automatically-controlled mercerizing-liquid supplyfor the vat, an automatically-controlled memorizing-liquid outlet forthe vat, and an automatically-controlled rinsing-liquid inlet and outletfor discharging said liquid into and withdrawing it from the vat.

3. In a mercerizing-machine, a vat, a rinsing-liquid inlet fordischarging said liquid into the vat, two vessels or a chamberfor therinsing liquid, and an automatically-controlled outlet for drawing partof the rinsing liquid from the vat into one of said vessels and partinto the other.

4. In a mercerizing-machine, two rollers over which the hanks arestrung, a vat, means for rotating the rollers to move the hanks throughthe vat, a tank for mercerizing liquid,

automatically-controlled supply and return means for drawing mercerizingliquid from said tank into the vat and for returning it from the vat tothe tank, automatically-operating rinsing means for subjecting the hanksto the action of a rinsing liquid after they have been subjected to themercerizing liquid, two tanks or vessels for receiving the rinsingliquid, and an automaticallycontrolled outlet for withdrawing rinsingliquid ICC rich in mercerizing liquid into one tank and rinsing liquidfree from mercerizing liquid into another tank.

5. In a mercerizing-machine, a vat, feed mechanism for moving the hanksthrough a mercerizing solution in the vat, an automatically-controlledoutlet for withdrawing the mercerizing solution from the vat,automatically-operating stopping means for arresting the hanks-feedmechanism to permit the hanks to drain, automatically-operated startingmeans for throwing the hanks-feed mechanism into operation after themercerizing solution has been withdrawn from the vat, and rinsing meansfor the hanks.

6. In a merceriZing-machine', a vat, two rollers over which the hanksare adapted to be stretched, driving means for rotating one of therollers to move the hanks, lowering and raising means for lowering oneof the rollers into and elevating it from the vat,mercerizing-liquid-supply means, automatically-operated controllingmeans for said mercerizing-liquid-supply means whereby said liquid issupplied to the vat upon elevation of said roller and said supplystopped upon lowering of the roller, starting means for throwing theroller-driving means into operation, and automatically-operatingstopping means for throwing the roller-driving means out of operationafter a predetermined time. a

7. In a meroerizing-machine, a vat, two rollers over which the hanks areadapted to be stretched, driving means for rotating one of the rollersto move the hanks, lowering and raising means for lowering one of therollers into and elevating it from the vat, mercerizing-liquid-supplymeans automatically operating to supply said liquid to the vat upon theelevation of said roller, automaticallyoperating means for arresting themercerizing-liquid-supply means to stop the supply of said liquid uponlowering of the roller, starting means for throwing the roller-drivin gmeans into operation, an automatically-controlled mercerizing-liquidoutlet for the vat, stopping means for throwing the roller-driving meansout of operation after a predetermined time, and rinsing means adaptedto automatically rinse the hanks.

S. In a mercerizing-machine, a vat, two rollers over which the hanks areadapted to be stretched, driving means for rotating one of the rollersto move the hanks, lowering and raising means for lowering one of therollers into and elevating it from the vat, mercerizing-liquid-supplymeans automatically operating to supply said liquid to the vat upon theelevation of said roller, automaticallyoperating means for arresting themercerizing-liquid-supply means to stop the supply of said liquid uponthe lowering of the roller, starting means for throwing theroller-driving means into operation, and automaticallycontrolledmercerizing-liquid outlet for the vat, automatically-operating sprayingmeans for spraying the hanks with the rinsing liquid, and anautomatically-controlled rinsingliquid outlet for drawing said liquidfrom the vat.

9. In a mercerizing-machine, a vat, two rollers over which the hanks areadapted to be stretched, driving means for rotating one of the rollersto move the hanks, lowering and raising means for lowering one of therollers into and for elevating it from the vat,mercerizing-liquid-supply means automatically operating to supply saidliquid to the vat upon the elevation of'said roller,automatically-operating means for arresting themercerizing-liquid-supply means to stop the supply of said liquid uponthe lowering of the roller, starting means for throwing theroller-rotating mechanism into operation, and automatically-controlledmercerizing-liquid outlet for the vat, stopping means for throwing theroller-driving means out of operation for a predetermined time,automatically-operating spraying means for spraying the hanks with arinsing liquid, starting means for again throwing the roller-drivingmeans into operation, and stopping means for arresting the operation ofthe entire machine.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

MAURICE FRINGS.

Witnesses:

J {ALLISON BOWEN, ANTONIO FERNANDO DE LA CALLE.

